The output control of thermal power generation is mainly used as a method of regulating electric power supply and demand in the electric power system, and pumped storage hydroelectricity (pumping-up power generation) is properly combined with it.
However, since renewable power sources, as represented by photovoltaic power generation or wind power generation in which the electric power generation depends on weather, are incorporated as distributed power sources into electric power systems now and in the future, the concern arises that these distributed power sources may have an adverse impact on the balance of power supply and demand.
The concern arises that techniques of regulating power supply and demand that focus on thermal power generation may be inadequate to compensate for fluctuations in power supply and demand that are caused by these distributed power sources. As a result, new techniques for regulating power supply and demand are now considered imperative.
One proposal of a new technique for regulating power supply and demand is the utilization of distributed energy storage such as “storage batteries” or electric vehicles (EV), which are linked to the distribution network of an electric power system, that is expected to come into wide use. Energy storage is hereinbelow abbreviated and referred to as “ES.”
Storage battery SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) that is installed, for example, in a distributing substation has been proposed as a system for controlling distributed ES that is linked to a distribution network. Storage battery SCADA implements regulation of power supply and demand through the use of various types of ES (such as LIB, NAS, NiH, and lead storage batteries) having different specifications and performance, such as storage batteries for regulating demand and storage batteries for consumers.
Patent Document 1 describes an electric power system controller that regulates power supply and demand through the use of consumer-side secondary batteries (ES) as well.
Storage battery SCADA and the power system controller described in Patent Document 1 transmit operation instructions relating to charging operations or discharging operations to each storage battery by way of a communication network. Upon receiving operation instructions by way of communication paths within the communication network, each storage battery carries out charging operations or discharging operations in accordance with the operation instructions.